SAINT LEO, Fla. – Against Barry, Saint Leo did their best to overcome a 16-point deficit but came up two points shy, as they fell to the Buccaneers 59-57, from Miami Shores. Dominique Daniels led all Lions with 19 points and posted a game-best seven boards in the two-point setback.

Overall, the Lions are 11-7 on the season and own a 4-4 conference mark as they enter the back end of conference action. The Sharks, today’s opponent, are 2-6 in the Sunshine State Conference and currently own a 9-10 record. Both teams are 4-5 vs. common opponents.

In the series, the Sharks own a 30-14 edge. Despite the record though, the Lions are the ones who are coming off a critical defeat of NSU in their last meeting, a 69-66 overtime win last December in the Lions SSC opener. In the game, Daniels and Clemmons combined for 32 points and Lauren Lee posted a game-high six boards.

About Saint Leo:Over their last seven contests the Lions are 2-5. In those five losses, SLU is being outscored 70.4-to-57.0 and have committed 105 turnovers. While the lack of scoring is hurting the Green & Gold, it is the frequent slow starts which have been the thorn in the side of Coach Olds’ bunch as they have been outscored 181-117 in the first half during that same time span. Slow starts are not the problem for Dominique Daniels, however. One of the SSC ‘s top performers, Daniels continues to be the Lions leading scorer, dropping 13.5 points-per-game and grabbing a team-best 8.8 rebounds per game. In the two team’s first meeting this season, Daniels poured in 15 points and snagged six rebounds. Willonda Windham is also an important factor for SLU. The second leading scorer (11.6 ppg.) has been off her season pace during their last past seven games scoring 9.0 points-per-game, but looks to improve her play against an opponent she has had success against. Windham was solid in the paint for Saint Leo in their last meeting, going off for 12 points and five boards. Brittany Carannante continues to demonstrate her ability on the court. She is averaging 9.4 points-per-game. She posted a team-best eight assists in squads’ last matchup and currently holds the team lead in steals (42), blocks (15) and assists (62). Gekeela Clemmons was the big scorer in the teams December 30th match-up as she dropped in a game-high 17 points. She, along with teammate Brianna Lollis, currently stand as two of the of the Lions top three-point threats. Clemmons has connected on 34.5 percent of her shots while Brianna Lollis has been lights-out, connecting on nearly 47 percent of her opportunities. Sierra Williams continues to be a consistent veteran, averaging 7.3 and 4.1 rebound-per-game.

As a team the Lions are doing a masterful job of holding their opponents to a 38.3 field-goal percentage and have forced 156 steals on the season. They are shooting 38.5 percent from behind the arch and have hit on 66.6 percent of their free throw attempts.

Coach Olds’ Keys to Success:Head Coach Chanita Olds continues to maintain a positive outlook on things. In a recent conversation coach Olds stated, “We are very close. We battle hard every time we hit the floor. Now it is just a matter of execution and being able to finish it.” She went on to say, “Turnovers need to be limited and we need to do a better job at starting games. If we play in the second half’s of games like we do the first half, then we are hard to beat.”

Probable Starters:

Player

PPG

RPG

Specialty

F, #50, Dominique Daniels

13.5

8.8

78.0% FT's (71-91)

C, #13, Willonda Windham

11.6

7.4

45.6 FG%

G, #22, Gekeela Clemmons

10.4

3.7

34.5 (3-pt fg%)

G, #9, Brittany Carannante

9.4

3.7

42 Steals, 15 Blocks

G, #24, Sierra Williams

7.3

4.1

29 Assists

About Nova Southeastern: Nova Southeastern, who enters the game with a 9-10 overall record, is also experiencing an up and down last two weeks, having dropped four-straight games, including a pair of overtime contests. In fact, the Sharks have played in three overtime games this year and are a combined 0-3. Nova Southeastern is also experiencing offensive troubles, amassing just a 38.4 field goal percentage and are averaging just 65.3 points-per-game. The turnover bug is also affecting the Sharks, as they have committed 375 giveaways over their 19 games. Where the Sharks posses an advantage over their opponents is in the rebounding department. NSU currently holds a 766-724 advantage on the boards and have blocked 55 shots. Defensively, the Sharks rank 36th in the nation in three-point defense and are holding opponents to a 27.6 shooting percentage. Individually, Abbie Tepe leads the way in scoring pumping in 10.8 points-per-contest. She also ranks 96th in the country in assists-per-game with a team-best 3.9. Stevie Kamp is attempting to releave some of the offensive difficulties in the absence of all-conference center Stephanie Sarosi. She is scoring 8.8 points-per-game. She also leads the team in rebounds at 7.6 per-game. LaShawnn Edwards and Lindsey Newpher round out a well-balanced attack, chipping in 7.5 and 7.1 points-per-game, respectively.